# Ep 345: A Stunning Lightsaber, Two Extreme Cameras, and Wrangling Roombas

- Show: [Hackaday Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast)
- Published: 2025-11-14
- Length: 57m
- Episode: 345
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas
- Listen: https://hackaday.com/2025/11/14/hackaday-podcast-episode-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas/

## Summary

Hosts Elliot Williams and Jenny List discuss the 2025 Component Abuse Challenge, the discovery of UNIX V4 source code at the University of Utah, and two extreme camera hacks: a mouse-sensor camera by Dicus and a 3-gigapixel scanner camera by Giga Whip. They also cover a Chinese Morse code encoding system, a highly realistic lightsaber by Hero Tech, a web-enabled multimeter by Mellow Labs, and an LED projector lens design. The episode concludes with analysis of iRobot's potential bankruptcy and FreeBSD as a Windows alternative.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=7) Introduction and Component Abuse Challenge
- [2:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=124) UNIX V4 Discovery at University of Utah
- [7:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=433) Mouse Sensor Camera by Dicus
- [13:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=780) 3 Gigapixel Scanner Camera by Giga Whip
- [15:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=957) Chinese Morse Code History
- [26:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=1596) Hero Tech Lightsaber Build
- [29:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=1743) Mellow Labs Webified Multimeter
- [34:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=2082) LED Projector Lens Design
- [37:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=2256) Quick Hacks: Component Abuse and Cyberdeck
- [45:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2025-11-14-ep-345-a-stunning-lightsaber-two-extreme-cameras-and-wrangling-roombas#t=2717) iRobot Bankruptcy and FreeBSD Alternative

## Topics

- [PCB design & layout](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pcb-design)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Unix V4 (other)
- Dicus (other)
- Giga Whip (other)
- Raspberry Pi (chip)
- Hero Tech (other)
- Mellow Labs (company)
- ESP32 (chip)
- iRobot (company)
- Roomba (product)
- FreeBSD (other)
- Ghost BSD (other)
- ReactOS (other)
- KiCad (tool)
- Sigrok (tool)
- Rigol (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [033 - All Over the Place](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2020-04-27-033-all-over-the-place) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [Look at nature and meet nerds](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-03-13-look-at-nature-and-meet-nerds) (The Amp Hour)
- [73: That's a Waste of Bits](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-10-22-73-thats-a-waste-of-bits) (Embedded.fm)
- [050 - Four Years In](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2021-08-22-050-four-years-in) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [065 - Multitalented Grinch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2023-07-30-065-multitalented-grinch) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)

## Citing this page

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